As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, meet Helen Joseph - Imperial's new Student Mental Health Adviser.

Earlier this year Imperial appointed Helen as its first Student Mental Health Adviser. In line with the College’s strategic commitment of prioritising the mental-wellbeing of the student body, the position was introduced as part of additional investment in the Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service.

We caught up with Helen to find out a little more about her new role.

Tell us a bit about your background.

My background is mainly in mental health services. I’ve been a mental health nurse for the past 21 years working across a number of roles mostly in the NHS working with adults, children and adolescents. I’m also a qualified systematic psychotherapist (a family therapist) so I have a range of experiences across the spectrum.

So what is a Mental Health Adviser?

The role of the Mental Health Adviser is to provide a specialist mental health service to the College community. I work with students who have a moderate to severe mental health difficulty, undertake one-to one casework, and work with staff to understand the mental health needs of students. As well as this I will be working to raise awareness of mental health issues and support within the College community.

What will you be doing to raise awareness of mental health at the College?

Part of this will be through specific campaigns like Mental Health Awareness Week. We’ve previously done a campaign around University Mental Health Day in March – it’s about having a presence in College where students can come with questions and find out how to access support.

The other side of mental health promotion is working with different parts of the College to raise awareness and support staff in how they themselves support students with difficulties early on. This can be around how they speak to students who may be dealing with some emotional distress, and how they signpost students to relevant services and support on offer.

We’ll be offering various forms of training, workshops and talks to different departments to make sure we have a rolling programme of conversations about mental health across Imperial. The main purpose of these is to make sure we’re open about mental health and raise awareness of difficulties amongst students.

Your role is part of a wider support network at the College. What other services are out there?

Mental health advice is part of the Student Counselling and Mental Health Advice Service here at the College, which includes the Counselling Service.

The Counselling Service accepts direct referrals from students so any registered student can make an appointment. They also run workshops on topics to do with emotional wellbeing and mental health throughout the year.

The Mental Health Service is different in that students need to be referred by a member of staff to access the service. It provides support for students who may have had, or are experiencing, moderate to severe mental health difficulties.

We’re also there to signpost students and members of staff to other services within the College such as the Chaplaincy Multi Faith Centre who run mindfulness sessions, or their GP through whom they have access to other services and support.

What attracted you to this role of Mental Health Adviser at Imperial?

I was interested in this post as I saw it as an opportunity to continue some of the work I’ve done in the NHS but also to bring my experience to the College community.

What advice would you give to students?

If students don’t feel able to approach tutors or the professional services it is still useful to find someone they can confide in. Talking with a friend or family member and admitting they’re finding things a bit difficult can help relieve some of the pressure. Often they’ll find that it’s a common theme and they’re not alone.

I would also reinforce the benefits of exercise and relaxation to relieve stress. It’s about finding that distraction that helps them to relax. Any kind of hobby, from sport to being creative, can help – there is a range of art and music studios here at the College and many societies on offer at the students’ union. Finding that balance between work and pleasure is really beneficial.